Cumulus welcomes 21 new members in 2022
Cumulus is honored to welcome 21 new member institutions joining the association at the annual General...
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Cumulus welcomes 21 new members in 2022
Cumulus is honored to welcome 21 new member institutions joining the association at the annual General...
No news from Special Events
Mission Statement
After more than 60 years of construction and development, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication has formed the distinctive disciplinary characteristics of "creative design and art-industry integration" based on its tradition and advantages in the field of publishing media, especially in the fields of design and art. In 1989, the institute took the lead in offering digital art and design education in China. The school is one of the 18 colleges and universities approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education to enroll students independently and the quality of students it accepts is from the first-level echelon in China.
Our overall goal is a first-level international design school that is advanced, innovative, forward-looking and teaching and research-oriented with its distinctive characteristics. In the context of sustainable human development and destiny linkage, the institute pursues the mission of teaching excellence, academic innovation and contribution to social progress with innovation and creativity as the driving engine and people as the main focus.
International Role
We have collaborated with a number of universities, including Ohio University,University of Tennessee, Edge Hill University in the UK, Bauhaus University in Germany, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy, to offer workshops,international collaborative programs, joint training programs at both the undergraduate and master's level and exchange programs, such as an undergraduate exchange program with Linköping University in Sweden, an undergraduate joint training program with the University of the Arts London, a joint training program for postgraduates at Canberra University of Canberra, Australia, etc. We promote a new model of talent training in international class. Our postgraduate students will go to the University of Paris 8 for academic exchange activities and internships. More than 30 international universities including Tama Art University, Musashino Art University, Chiba University, Seoul National University, University of Paris 8, and Experimental Technology School of LISAA have welcomed our students.
In terms of international design services and exchanges, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, home to a large number of international talents in design and art, has organized various international design and art events and forums to bring into play its international communication capabilities by relying on the platform of the International Design Center and giving full play to Beijing’s advantage as the "Design Capital"of the UNESCO Global Network of Creative Cities. Students and faculty members have traveled to the United Kingdom, France, the United States, and Korea for international academic conferences such as "Technology, Craftsmanship, and Print Publications" hosted by the University of Cambridge and the International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction .
National Role
BIGC is an art school authorized to adopt independent undergraduate student recruitment policy by the Ministry of Education in China, a national teaching center for creative design and digital media art design, a national training center for animation creation and talents of the national new media industry base, a national training base for advanced talents in publishing and printing art design, a national collaborative innovation base for green printing and packaging industry and art design, a cultural and creative industry talent training base in Beijing, a Research Base for publishing Industry and Cultural Creativity in Beijing, Creative Design Base for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympic Games of 2022. We have established close ties with teaching and academic organizations such as the International User Experience Design Award (UXD Award) and ITEN of UNESCO. A number of our faculty members serve on the Steering Committee for Teaching in Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, the Chinese Society of Higher Education, the Chinese Artists Association, the Chinese Photographers Association, the Internet Society of China, and other organizations. We have a national-level teaching team, an academic innovation team of Beijing. Our Teaching Practice Center for Digital Art and Innovative Design is a national demonstration center for teaching experiments. We also have state key laboratories, a “research office of bookplate art creation " for Chinese Artists Association, a research office of digital media innovation teaching for People's Education Electronic Audio and Video Press, and research institutions like the Humanities and Future Design Innovation Center.
Main Focus
BA, MA, design, art and research oriented, etc. Digital Media Art, Visual Communication Design, and Animation are national first-level majors for undergraduates; Painting and Product Design are municipal first-level undergraduate majors in Beijing; and the program for Master's Course of Design is a high-level discipline under development in Beijing. In 1989, we are the first few universities who offer digital art and design courses in China.
Faculties and Departments
Visual Communication Design, Digital Media Art, Animation, Product Design, Painting, Art and Technology, Holography
Bachelor Level Programs
I. Course Name: Visual Communication Design
Course Code: 130502
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree：Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary：This course is oriented to and serves modern printing, publishing and related design fields, with good creative thinking, international vision and sense of social responsibility, familiar with the current situation of publishing, packaging, advertising and products and other related cultural and creative industries, and able to engage in design practice and research work in publishing, media and other fields.
Course Units: Type Design, Design Science, Graphic Design, Layout Design, Advertising Design and Application, Logo Design, Book design, Packaging Design, Brand Design, etc.
II. Course Name: Art and Technology
Course Code: 130501
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree：Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary：This course cultivates senior professionals in the field of art and technology with international vision, cross-disciplinary foundation and innovative and creative ability, who are familiar with the theories and methods of exhibition design and the means of expression that integrate art and technology.
Course Units: Introduction to Exhibition, Basic Ergonomics, Exhibition Planning, Exhibition Furniture Design, Cross Media Design, Visual Identity Design, Museum Exhibition Design, Holographic Art Design, Dynamic Interactive Design, Exhibition Application Design, etc.
III. Course Name: Product Design
Course Code: 080205
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary：This course will receive basic training in the principles, procedures, methods and expressions of product design, with solid product modelling skills, the ability to create and develop future products, and the ability to solve and investigate practical problems, and will be able to engage in specific product design, interaction design, user experience and research, market development and related design work in the fields of intelligent products and cultural and creative products, and have the ability to diversify design, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Course Units are: engineering graphics, design, design of design, design of interaction, user experience and research, market development and related design work.
Course Units: Engineering Graphics, Fundamentals of Mechanical Design, Open Source Hardware, Infographics Design, Modeling Technology, Design Materials and Processes, Design Psychology, User Strategy and Design, Human-Computer Interaction Design, Design Strategy and Management, Design Expression, Integrated Modelling Fundamentals, Ergonomics, Product Design Procedures.
IV. Course Name: Digital Media Art
Course Code: 130508
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary: This course focuses on the combination of art design and digital media technology, and is divided into multimedia art design, Internet product design and virtual reality art design, etc. It aims to cultivate application-oriented talents who are composite publishing and media talents who are familiar with digital publishing, digital media and related cultural and creative industries, have strong digital media art design ability and innovative spirit, and can engage in research, planning, management and art design in the field of digital publishing and media.
Course Units: Design, Communication, Design Fundamentals, Composition Art, Computer-aided Design, Digital Media Creative Thinking, Digital Media Performance Fundamentals, Multimedia Animation Modeling Technology and Application, Multimedia Choreography Art, Design Research and Experience Strategy, Interactive Design Principles and Methods, Interface Design, Front-end Development Technology Fundamentals, Intelligent Product Development Tools, Interactive Product Design, Virtual Reality Technology Development.
V. Course Name: Animation
Course Code: 130310
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary: This course has specialised in Animation Art, Game Art, Media Image and Film Art. The major focuses on the combination of animation, games and video with digital technology, highlighting the application of animation, games and video in digital publishing and media. Cultivate applied and composite senior talents with strong animation creation ability and innovative spirit, who can engage in animation director, animation scriptwriter, animation design, animation production, game design and game development, photography and film and television creation in the fields of animation, comics, games, video and film.
Course Units: Human Sketching, Dynamic Sketching, Basic Visual Expression Software, Introduction to Animation, Motion Design, Audio-visual Language, Animation Modeling Design, Animation Playwriting, Animation Creation, Game Planning, Game Engine Application, Game Creation, Digital Photography, Film and Television Special Effects, Film and Television Post-synthesis, Film and Television Creation, etc.
VI. Course Name: Painting
Course Code: 130402
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Course Summary: The future development of this course will be based on "combining painting with digital technology", "combining painting with printing culture" and "combining painting with cultural and creative industries", and will be divided into professional directions such as illustration art and digital painting art. The programme will be divided into the professional directions of illustration art, digital painting art and so on. The course focuses on the combination of painting art and digital technology, and highlights the application of painting art in the fields of printing and packaging, publishing and media.
Course Units: Chinese Traditional Modeling Fundamentals and Creation, Printmaking Art, Chinese Calligraphy and Painting, Ceramic Art, Visual Expression Software Fundamentals, Dynamic Illustration Techniques and Performance, Illustration and Creative Product Design, Illustration Creation, Illustrated Book Design and Production, Electronic Publication Illustration Creation, Interactive Illustration Creative Thinking, Digital Painting Characters and Scenes, Digital Creative Painting.
VII. Course Name: Web and New Media
Course Code: 050306T
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Course Summary: Driven by digital technology, big data and machine learning are gradually becoming important methodologies to support content development, algorithm push and other operational aspects, which makes new media gradually develop in the direction of intelligence. The course features the integration of journalism and communication education with artistic literacy and engineering skills, and cultivates composite applied new media talents who can work in interdisciplinary teams and have the ability to produce integrated media content and operate smart media.
Course Units: Introduction to Journalism, Introduction to Communication, Introduction to Digital Media, Design, Design Thinking, New Media Operations, Introduction to Database Systems, Data Analysis and Visualisation, Audiovisual Creativity, Integrated Media Creation, Mobile Terminal Product Design, and Fundamentals of Virtual Reality Technology Development.
VIII. Course Name: Digital Media Technology
Course Code: 080906
Course Length：4 years full-time or 3-6 years part-time
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering
Course Summary: This course cultivates high-caliber composite application-oriented technical talents engaged in the creative planning, development and maintenance of new media content. The course emphasizes the learning of the basic theory of digital information technology and the training of the practical ability of engineering application, fully reflecting the characteristics of combining engineering and arts, art and technology, and theory and practice. Students will be trained with basic mathematical and scientific knowledge, understanding the frontier knowledge in the field of publishing and media, understanding the frontier knowledge in the digital media technology industry, mastering the theoretical knowledge related to the discipline and the basic knowledge of digital media technology, and possessing the relevant skills in the application of digital media technology.
Course Units: C-Language Program, Digital Art Design Foundation, Data Structure, Computer Graphics and Image Technology, Information Retrieval and Application, Circuit and Electronic Technology, JAVA Language, Media Content Security Management, Media Resource Management, Human-computer Interaction, Intelligent Perception Technology.
Master Level Programs
I. Course name: Master of Design
Course code: 1305
Course Category: Art or Engineering
Course type: Academic
Course Length: Three years
Course Description: There are four research areas for Master's Course of Design: new media art, graphic design art, industrial product design and history theory of design. This program is a city-level key program in Beijing and included in the development plan of high-level disciplines in Beijing universities.
II. Course name: Master of Fine Art
Course Code: 1304
Course Category: Art
Course Type: Academic
Course Length: Three years
Course Description: There are five research areas for Master's Course of Fine Art: Chinese and Western painting art, animation art, illustration art, image art and art history. It is a city-level key program of Beijing.
III. Course Name: Master of Art Theory
Course Code: 1301
Course Category: Art Theory
Course Type: Academic
Course Length: Three years
Course Description: There are four research areas for Master’s Course of Art Theory: art history and art theory, studies on the inheritance and innovation of printing art and printing culture, digital media art theory and communication, art education management and cultural-creative industry.
Research Activity and Main Areas
The following areas are the main focuses:
1)In visual culture innovation design, the focuses are publication design, city image and fashion design, Olympic art and design research, product integration and innovation design, green packaging design, human factors engineering and interaction research, public space display and environment innovation design, engraving and bookplate art, etc. with a characteristic interdisciplinary and multi-major synergy and interaction.
2）In animation image and derivatives research and development, focuses are laid on animation, comics, games, image and derivatives research and development, design and manufacturing resources. We undertake the responsibilities of animation derivatives industry research, cultivation and product development, playing the role of a new think tank for animation research.
3） In new media art and design, we focus on digital publishing research, planning research, creative design research, and technology realization research, etc. In addition, the innovation researches of digital exhibition art range from concept development of digital exhibition, media performance, planning research to creative design, technical realization, etc.
Doctorate Level Programs
We offer Ph.D. Course Programs:
Research areas:
1. Digital Media Art and Cultural Media
2. Visual Art and Publication Media
3. Design History and Theory
Course Length of study and maximum years of study
The doctoral program is of 3 years’ Course Length, and the master-doctoral program is of 4 to 5 years’ Course Length. The program should be finished within 6 years. For those who have completed the program ahead of schedule and whose dissertations meet the requirements for defense, they can participate in an early dissertation defense and apply for their Courses after the prescribed approval procedures.
Subject Areas for Exchange Students
Master Degree: Design–Art Design
Bachelor Degree: Visual Communication Design, Digital Media Art, Animation, Product Design, Painting, Art and Technology
Application Deadlines
Spring Semester: March 1st to July 1st, Deadline: December 20
Autumn Semester: September 1st—Januray 1st, Deadline: June 10
Teaching Languages
English/Chinese
Semester Dates
Every September—-Next September
Cost of Living Per Month (Studying and Living)
Tuition and Fees:
Bachelor's program: CNY 20,000
Master's program: CNY 30,000
Training program: language&culture: CNY 9,000/semester, CNY 18,000/year, major training is in accordance with the training curriculum and aggrement. CNY 400 insurance/ semester, CNY 800/year
Short-term program: in accordance with the training curriculum and aggrement, application fee: CNY 600, insurance CNY 400
Accommodation: twin-bed room: CNY 900/person/month, four-bed room: CNY 480/ person/month
